Citizen Participation in Local Governance: An Urban-Rural Perspective

This is an Open access book. It provides a comparative and multidisciplinary analysis of public participation in local governance. The volume stands out with three essential features. First, the comparative research reflected in the volume has a global geographical scope because it is the outcome of a Horizon 2020 project involving 18 partners from six continents. Therefore, it includes highly topical and so far under-researched case studies beyond just the European continent. Secondly, we look at the above-mentioned topics from a timely urban-rural perspective, as the ultimate aim is to explore the impact of the phenomenon of urbanisation on local governments and the response of urban and rural municipalities. Thirdly, the book focuses within broader research concerning public participation in local governance on several specific topics that have been revealed by our project as particularly relevant. These include people’s participation in local development and planning, their involvement regarding large-scale projects, participatory budgeting, as well as the promises and pitfalls of digital participation.